Northern Arkansas still socked in by wintery storm

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department's road conditions map showed icy conditions across the northern third of the state, extending as far south as Mena in far western Arkansas.

CHUCK BARTELSAssociated Press

Tuesday's sun helped melt some of the ice that has kept schools and businesses in northern Arkansas closed for days. But conditions were still bad enough that number of school districts, including Fayetteville and Rogers, announced they'll be closed again Wednesday.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department's road conditions map showed icy conditions across the northern third of the state, extending as far south as Mena in far western Arkansas. Elevated parts of Interstate 440 in Little Rock were also icy.

Predictions that any melting during daylight hours Tuesday would refreeze started coming true as soon as the sun set, Rogers Towing owner Tony Arnold said.

"I just witnessed one (driver) cross three lanes and go into a ditch," Arnold said.

Starting Thursday and into the weekend, much of north and central Arkansas received freezing rain, then accumulations of sleet or snow — up to 2 inches of ice followed by more than a half-foot of snow in some parts. Two or more inches of sleet also fell in parts of central Arkansas.

There was no thawing out this time, as temperatures stayed cold and more freezing rain was in the forecast for Friday in north and central Arkansas.

Many in northern Arkansas complained that the state's winter-weather crews didn't get the job done when it came to making the roads passable.

But Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department spokesman Danny Straessle said that people drove over the mix in four-wheel drive vehicles, compacting it into thick sheets of ice.

"We did have some mixed results in some of these areas," Straessle said. "We've seen the photos that have circulated from the Missouri line and other areas. We can't argue with it — it's not the results we hoped for."

Those photos showed roads on the Arkansas side of the state's borders with Missouri and Oklahoma packed with snow and ice, but clear on the other side.

One reason, Straessle said, is that Arkansas uses dump trucks fitted with plow blades and sand spreading equipment, while Missouri and Oklahoma, which have more annual snowfall, have specialized equipment.

"When you have temperatures that are below freezing and in the teens, it makes treating the ice pack very, very challenging," he said.

Straessle said crews worked 12-hour shifts and have been going around the clock since the storm began. He said the lack of success is because of equipment, not the effort by the workers.

Arnold said he was unable to respond to many tow calls to get cars out of ditches. Volume was part of the problem, but a more serious challenge was that, even with tire chains, he was unable to get his 12,000-pound tow truck in or out ice-slickened valleys.

"You get to the bottom of a valley and you can't get out. Or you fly down a hill and hit the car you're going to rescue," Arnold said. "Some people are angry we couldn't get to them but ... it comes down to a safety thing."

Straessle said highway officials will meet with their counterparts in other states to get ideas for how to better attack wintery road conditions. Over the past 10 years, the state has spent an average of $6.5 million annually on treating roadways, he said.

Straessle said the state has bought two pieces of specialized snow removal equipment, which will be deployed in the next round of wintry weather.

In the state's northeast, the roof of a parking garage in downtown Jonesboro collapsed Tuesday. No one was hurt, but officials said several cars were damaged and a street's lane was blocked.

Schools in central Arkansas, including those in the Little Rock area, reopened Tuesday. And the University of Arkansas reopened its Fayetteville campus Tuesday afternoon, but bus service wasn't available for part of the campus or an area with student apartments.